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SERMON 



PREACHED IN MURRAY-STREET CHURCH, 

DECEMBER 2, 1821, 



ON THE 



OCCASION OF RESIGNING HIS CHARGE OP HIS 
CONGREGATION; 

BY JOHN M.WSON, D. D. 

WITH JW APPENDIX. 

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 



PUBLISHED AT THE LITERARY ROOMS. 

CORNER OF BROADWAY AND PINE-STREET. 






il 



ABRAHAM PAUL, PRINTER. 
1822. 




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* 




THE 



A 

SERMON 

PREACHED IN MURRAY-STREET CHURCH, 

DECEMBER 2, 1821, 

ON THE 

OCCASION OF RESIGNING HIS CHARGE OF HIS 
CONGREGATION; 

by john m. Mason, d. d. 

WITH AN APPENDIX. 

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 



PUBLISHED AT THE LITERARY ROOMS, 

CORNER OF BROADWAY AND PINE-STREET, 




ABRAHAM PAUL, PRINTER, 

1822, 



SERMON. 



ACTS XX. 17—27. 

And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the 
church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, 
Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what 
manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord 
with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, 
which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews ; And how I kept 
back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, 
and have taught you publicly, and from house to house. Tes- 
tifying both to the Jezus, and also to the Greeks, repentance 
toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not know- 
ing the things that shall befall me there : Save that the Holy 
Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions 
abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I 
•my life dear unto myself so that I might finish my course with 
joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, 
to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I 
know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the king- 
dom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you 
to record this day, that /am pure from the blood of all men. 
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of 
God. 

±S EXT to our Lord Jesus Christ, the name which 
figures most gloriously in the early stages of the 
Christian story, is that of the apostle Paul. The 
grandeur of his mind, his intellectual and moral mag- 
nanimity, his heroic devotion, his patience in suffer- 



4 



ing ; his powerful genius, his decision, his eloquence, 
his zeal, shine in every page of his writings, raise the 
admiration and awe the spirits of his readers, and 
make them feel that they enter into communion with 
a being of a superior order. But it is not that pecu- 
liar greatness which was inseparable from every act 
of the man, and excites our veneration while it 
forbids our rivalship, that creates our deepest inte- 
rest in his character. Our understandings may be 
penetrated with light which has no power of warm- 
ing our hearts. The most profound respect does not 
necessarily call forth our love. Our affections must 
be won ; they cannot be stormed. To this principle of 
our nature, God has been pleased to pay particular 
regard, in the first heralds of the cross. However 
diversified their qualities and attainments — whatever 
be the zeal of one, the potency of argument in ano- 
ther, the intrepid courage of a third, that which 
bears the sway in all, is their loveliness. Our hearts 
are captivated by the same process which subdues 
our understandings. Nothing, for example, can be 
more fair and unanswerable, than when Paul closes 
in his argument with the subtle philosopher; nothing 
more terrible than when he deals out the thun- 
ders of God among the gainsayers : and nothing more 
exquisitely tender, than his carriage toward the timid 
and scrupulous disciple. If ever a man knew how to 
wind his way into the human soul — how to coil around 
him its most sacred affections — how to explore the 
secret place of tears, and to put in motion all its 
kindest sympathies, the apostle Paul was certainly 
that man. You know that this has always been with 



ine a favourite theme ; that my heart has enlarged, my 
imagination brightened ; and my steps have trodden 
upon almost fairy ground, when they have been roused 
and quickened by the name of Paul. But on no oc- 
casion does he loom so high, and shine so gloriously, 
as in the context. All his powers are concentrated ; 
his feelings are condensed into a point; the covering 
is shoved aside from his breast, and you see, without 
disguise, the workings of his ingenuous, his upright, 
his mighty mind. This parting address to the elders 
of Ephesus well deserved a place in the holy volume ; 
and deserves it in our best regards, in our most reve- 
rential remembrance. 

I propose to give you, on this occasion, an analysis 
of part of the apostle's discourse. You will find it to 
contain, an account of the manner in which he dis- 
charged his ministry among the Ephesians, ver. 1 8-21 ; 
his extreme devotedness to the cause in which he was 
embarked, ver. 22 — 24, and his presentiment of its be- 
ing the closing of his ministry, with an affectionate 
appeal to their consciences, and the ground of that 
appeal, 25 — 27. 

I. An account of the manner in which he dis- 
charged his ministry among the Ephesians, ver. 
18—21. 

1. He served the Lord with all humility of mind. 
The apostles, unlike many of their pretended suc- 
cessours, aimed at no worldly honours, distinctions, 
nor titles. " Rabbi," is not to be met with in their 



6 



whole vocabulary. The name of Lords bishops was ut- 
terly unknown to them, nor would they have thought 
it a meet appellation for the followers of a crucified 
master. Whatever be its origin or use, the spirit of the 
apostles disclaims it, and holds no fellowship with the 
temper which it is calculated to cherish. Servants 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, was their highest earthly 
designation, and rank, and glory. Paul had talents, 
and powers, and proficiency, which might fairly entitle 
him to a pre-eminence among his brethren; but the on- 
ly pre-eminence which he courted was a pre-eminence 
in dangerous service to the glory of his Master. Let 
little men sigh after their rattles ; it suits their capa- 
cities, it is fit for their ambition ; but neither an apos- 
tle, nor an apostolic man, wishes for any more digni- 
fied style, or holy occupation, than to be known in 
the church as " serving the Lord." 

There is a consideration which weighs much with 
every gracious heart, and is not, cannot be easily for- 
gotten — the immense distance between the Lord Je- 
sus, and his most faithful servants. He, the living 
God ; they, creatures low in the scale of being, when 
compared with other creatures which "excel in 
strength, yet obey his commandments, hearkening to 
the voice of his word." u The treasure is in earthen 
vessels, that the excellency of the power might be of 
God." The angels who look, with studious anxiety, 
into the mysteries of redemption by Jesus Christ, 
would thankfully have accepted the appointment of 
" ambassadours" of the cross. But God has seen fit 
to confer that honour upon men of like passions with 



others ; and commanded the angels to be ministering 
spirits. When we add, that these heralds of his 
truth were sinners like other men, called by divine 
grace out of the common condemnation, and sent to 
tell their fellow-sinners that " there is forgiveness with 
God," how august the message ! how humbling to the 
messenger ! He cannot, or ought not, to forget one 
single moment, that " by grace he is saved ;" and the 
more profound and lively his sense of this truth, the 
more completely will he enter into the feelings of 
Paul, who served the Lord with all humility of mind. 
Could Paul need a monitor to remind him that he 
was once a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and inju- 
rious, that he obtained mercy because the " grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding abundant," 
and obtained it for this end, that in him, first, the Sa- 
viour " might show forth all long-suffering to them 
who should believe on him to life everlasting ?" He 
could not open his lips to proclaim the riches of re- 
deeming love, without at the same time exhibiting 
himself as a monument of that love. No wonder 
that his service was so strongly tinged with humility. 
There is nothing, my brethren, which can so humble 
and elevate a man's soul as a powerful experience of 
the love of Christ. Nor is any thing more unbecom- 
ing, more desolating to the holy character — more in- 
dicative of communion with the devil, than clerical 
superciliousness. 

Unassuming as were the apostle's manners — inno- 
cent as was his conversation — useful as was his 



8 



whole life, his course was nevertheless a course of 
trouble. For 

2. His ministry was marked by " many tears" and 
many " temptations, which befell him by the lying in wait 
of the Jews" 

The " tears" of an apostle have upon our minds a 
most melting influence. Our own are disposed to 
mingle with them upon the bare mention of his. But, 
after all, what called them forth ? You do not hear 
of his weeping before the Sanhedrim of Jerusalem — 
before the Roman governour, into whose presence 
he was brought in chains. No ! there was a proper 
scene for a spirit which neither the Sanhedrim, nor 
the Roman governour, in all his authority, could sub- 
due or bow. He appeared before them less as the 
criminal than as the judge. His mind rose, his spirit 
towered, till all before him seemed to be, what indeed 
they were, comparatively very little men. What 
then could bring tears, and many tears, from the eyes 
of a man who could make governours tremble on 
their bench of justice ? The overflowings of his own 
benevolent heart ! When he saw how men slighted 
their own mercies — how they rejected, some with 
civil, some with contumelious air, as they do at this 
hour, the salvation of God, and " put away from them 
the words of eternal life ;" having before him the 
perils which they encountered, and a full view of the 
ruin which they could not escape, his whole soul was 
dissolved in tenderness, and he wept his tears of bit- 



terness over their infatuation. The terror of the 
Roman government could not extort from his firmness 
a single drop — the sight of an immortal soul, perish- 
ing in its iniquity, and pleased with its delusions, alto- 
gether unmanned him, and suffused his cheeks with 
tears, which in other cases, would have been the sign 
of weakness. 

Objections and oppositions were not the only im- 
pediments of the apostle's career. Many trials befell 
him by the lying in wait of the Jews. That Paul was 
their countryman, in whom they had pridv?d them- 
selves — that he was among the Pharisees, whom the 
nation almost idolized — that he had been their ring- 
leader in persecuting the new religion, all passed for 
nothing. He was now a follower of the crucified 
Nazarene, and nothing but his blood would assuage 
their wrath. All the world over, the disciples of the 
Lord Jesus have been singled out as objects of ulti- 
mate violence. It is not to be wondered at in a world 
under the influence of him who " was a murderer 
from the beginning." And if their condition is better 
now, it is because the Gospel has triumphed over hu- 
man madness, and hath put the devil to shame. No 
thanks to the progress of philosophy, nor to the thing, 
cantly styled rational Christianity, of which the abet- 
tors have, even now, just as much, and a little more, 
of the persecuting devil, than it is for their interest to 
avow. 

Paul trod continually, not amidst vipers and scor- 
pions, but, what is infinitely worse, the snares of hell- 



ID 



ish men. Every sermon furnished materials for a 
a new conspiracy ; every step a track for the blood- 
hounds. The cowards who shrunk from his eye, 
would yet venture to stab him from behind. It was 
only by lying in wait, that the Jews hoped for success. 
But all this was not to shake the resolution, nor alter 
the conduct, of Paul. Such as the grace of the Lord 
Jesus made him, both the church and her adversaries 
always found him. 

In the midst of these discouragements, nothing 
could arrest his zeal, nor silence his testimony : " he 
kept back nothing that was profitable to his Ephesian 
hearers." Neither the love of fame, nor the hope of 
gaining a party, ever called forth Paul's exertions. 
His anxiety was to be useful; popularity, at the ex- 
pense of duty, had no charms for him. Wo to that 
preacher who makes his office subservient to the ap- 
plause of his fellow-men. Whether his hearers ap- 
proved or disapproved— whether his doctrines coinci- 
ded with the popular prejudice, or were directly hos- 
tile to it, it was the same thing to this wise and gal- 
lant apostle. He had to do with " God, who searcheth 
the hearts ;" human opinions dwindled away into 
their native insignificance before him " whose judg- 
ment is according to truth ;" and therefore he kept 
back nothing that was profitable to those who fre- 
quented his ministry. He showed them that truth 
which admits of no compromise ; he had but one 
doctrine, which he " taught publicly, and from house 
to house." Be he where he might, in the solemn 
assembly or in the domestic circle, his instructions 



11 



were the same. It is of the very nature of truth that 
it should be so. And it equally belongs to imposture 
to utter things unpleasant in public, and fritter 
them away in private ; or to utter them in private, 
and suppress them in public. His discourses in the 
church he followed up with his explanations and ap- 
plications at home. " From house to house," the 
apostle might be tracked upon his line of life. 

This passage has been used as furnishing a divine 
warrant, and proving a divine obligation, to what is 
termed parochial visitation. Highly important it is 
no doubt ; but men must be careful that they do not 
convert the sound of words into a divine warrant, and 
not to require bricks without straw. To prove that 
apostolic example establishes a precedent for imita- 
tation, we must be sure that the circumstances to 
which it is applied are similar. But this is far from 
being the case in the present instance. There are 
two things in which the state of the churches now 
differs materially from their state in primitive times. 

In the first place, they had inspired teachers ; who 
could, therefore, spend the whole week in exhorting, 
confirming, consoling, their converts, without infrin- 
ging on their preparations for the Lord's day. Our 
situation is quite different : close and habitual study 
are necessary for us. And if we cannot get time to 
attend to it, our ministrations grow uninteresting, and 
our congregations lean. As for those men who boast 



12 



of working at the loom all the week, and then ac- 
quitting themselves well on the Lord's day, I shall 
say nothing but that their performances are such as 
might be expected from the loom ; but as far as can 
well be conceived from the labours of a " workman 
who rightly divides the word of truth." 

In the next place, the primitive churches never 
permitted themselves to suffer for want of labourers. 
Their spiritual advancement was, in their eyes, infi- 
nitely more valuable than all the pelf which the main- 
tenance of their ministers required. Look over the 
Acts of the Apostles, and be astonished at the abun- 
dance of help which the churches then enjoyed. Our 
economical plan is to make one pastor do the work 
which was anciently done by three or four, and the 
very natural consequence follows, the work is badly 
done, or the workman is sacrificed. In our own city, 
from the accumulation of inhabitants, and their very 
dispersed residences, if we were to visit as much, or 
any thing like it, as our people are good enough to 
wish, and unreasonable enough to expect, we should 
not have an hour left for our proper business ; we 
could make no progress in the knowledge of the 
Scriptures ; and not one would be able to preach a 
sermon worthy of a sensible man's hearing. The 
conclusion is almost self-evident, if congregations will 
stint themselves in workmen, they must have their 
work spoiled ; and if the work be done at all, they 
must kill the mind or body of the workman ; and 



13 



sometimes both. Let them not deceive themselves. 
If they impose hardships which God never command- 
ed, they must expect to go without his blessing. 

The burden of Paul's preaching, whether to the 
Jew or Gentile, was " repentance toward God, and 
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 

That their conceptions and feelings toward God 
were radically wrong; that these must be altered 
and purified ; and that all their views must centre in 
our Lord Jesus Christ, as " the way, the truth, and 
the life," in order to human happiness, his word con- 
stantly declares, and the experience of men as con- 
stantly confirms. This great truth, " Christ, the wis- 
dom of God and the power of God," flowed alike 
from the tongue and from the pen of Paul, and was, 
in fact, " the head and front of his offending," with 
both Jews and Gentiles. This, however, must be 
the substance of his testimony. And so it must be still. 
All who hope to win sinners unto God, and to have 
them as " crowns of rejoicing" in that day, must, like 
Paul, " determine to know nothing save Jesus Christ, 
and him crucified." And cursed with all the curses 
which are written in this book, be that ministry of 
which Christ is not the all and all. 

Such is a very feeble outline of the nature of Paul's 
ministry. Oh happy, thrice happy, the man who 
nearly imitates it ! We have much reason to blush 
and be ashamed, when we compare ourselves with 



11 

this prince of preachers ; and have infinite need to 
address to you, my Christian friends, the request of 
this glorious man of God, " Brethren, pray for us." 

II. We are next called to witness Paul's extreme de- 
votedness to the cause in which he was engaged. He 
was bound in the spirit to go to Jerusalem. The Holy 
Ghost put forth a constraining influence upon him to 
go to that city. He had often heard, and well knew, 
the voice — had often felt, and well understood, the 
impression which signified his duty to go to the me- 
tropolis of persecution. Of the general nature of the 
impulse he was well assured. He knew that it came 
from God, and could not lead him astray. This was 
sufficient to mark out the course of his obedience. 
What was to befall him at Jerusalem he could not 
tell ; he only knew that no rest awaited him there. 
" The Holy Ghost witnessed, that in every city, bonds 
and afflictions abode him." Go where he would, he 
was sure that his fidelity would be put to the severest 
test — sure that whoever found the Christian cause 
a cause of ease and comfort, it was to be no ease nor 
comfort to him. Well, how does the prospect affect 
him ? He was not such a fanatic as to court pain 
when he might have avoided it. The school of Bec- 
caria and Voltaire, which teach that the severity of 
punishment multiplies the offence, was not then 
known ; or, had it been known, would hardly have 
caught the ear of Paul. He did not dream of fitting 
himself for the duties of an apostle, by proclaiming 
war upon the principle of common sense, and the 



15 



common feelings of human nature. He knew, and 
never shrinked from the original condition of his 
Master's service. " Whosoever denieth not himself, 
and taketh not up his cross, and followeth not after 
me, cannot be my disciple." Show me the cross, ex- 
claimed this magnanimous man; spread out before 
me all the self-denials I may be called to endure : be 
they what they may, I must be a disciple ! He did 
not doubt that his Lord would make all up to him in 
due season ; " for he had respect unto the recom- 
pense of the reward." " None of these things move 
me ; neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that 
I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry 
which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify 
the gospel of the grace of God." 

One of the idlest of human efforts is, the at- 
tempt to frighten a man who has deliberately resol- 
ved to sacrifice his life, or to succeed in his under- 
taking. You have lost your hold of him. When you 
have threatened him with death, you have done your 
worst, and have no terrours left. It is then that the 
great commander steps on the scene, and says, " Fear 
not them that kill the body, and after that have no 
more that they can do : but I will forewarn you whom 
you shall fear ; fear him who, after he hath killed, 
hath power to destroy both soul and body in hell : 
yea, 1 say unto you, fear him." Paul entered tho- 
roughly into this feeling : and therefore all appeals 
to human power and human pains, — to the axe, the 
gibbet, or the stake, were without effect upon him ; 
for "he endured as seeing him who is invisible," 



16 



And so, my friends, will it be with us, in proportion 
as our converse is with eternal realities. Reckon not, 
when the great trial comes, upon the strength, and 
courage, and nerves, which have commanded human 
applause, and secured human expectation. " I cannot 
argue for Christ," said a female martyr, " but 1 can 
burn for him." Her faith was of the same sort with 
the apostle's : and therefore she did not even count 
her life dear unto herself, that she might finish her 
course with joy." My brethren, how could you, the 
best, the most resolute of you all, abide this test of 
the apostolic or female martyr ? I do not say, that in 
a life of ease and comfort, which God has vouchsafed 
to you, you are called to exercise the grace of mar- 
tyrdom : but I do say, that if upon your deliberate 
choice, your preference lean to any thing else than 
our Lord Jesus Christ, you have nothing to expect 
but that he will cast you out of his kingdom. The 
apostle was always practical ; t. e. he never preached 
Christian duties, or painted Christian trials, without 
a reference to the possibility of his being called to 
the performance of the one, or to the endurance of 
the other. He now felt all the considerations from 
both press hard upon him. One of his sweet enjoy- 
ments arose from the presence and sympathy of his 
fellow-christians. He found that this was to be in- 
terrupted — to be closed : and that drew from him, in 
the 

III. Place, his presentiment of the present being 
the last opportunity of converse with his Ephesian 
friends. "Arid now. behold, I know that ye all, amonsr 



17 



among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of 
God, shall see my face no more !" 

There is a relation, and a tenderness of relation, 
produced between a people and the instrument of 
their spiritual blessings, which nothing on earth can 
equal. Something which identifies him with all their 
affections, and which they cannot easily transfer : 
something which creates a soothing pillow for him in 
every bosom ; and for which every exchange is little 
better than a pillow of thorns. On this subject it is 
impossible for me to enlarge : could I summon up 
apathy enough, your own feelings would not endure 
it. Let me, therefore, rather invite you away from 
this touching theme to Paul's appeal to the con- 
sciences of his hearers. Thus runs its terrible, but 
affectionate language : " Wherefore I take you to re- 
cord this day, that I am pure from the blood of all 
men : for I have not shunned to declare unto you the 
whole counsel of God." There is a most awful trust 
committed by the Lord Jesus to his ministering ser- 
vants. It is nothing less than the blood of men. Oh 
that they felt this trust more than they sometimes do ! 
You would not see the pulpit converted into a stage 
for the display of human ingenuity, or perverted to 
the display of human vanity. These things are lighter 
than a feather, and lose all their importance in the 
eyes of a man who remembers that he has an account 
to settle with God for blood ; and that he knows not 
the moment when his account may be demanded. It 
is observable, and ought to sink deep into your hearts, 

:\ 



18 

and especially into the heart of every preacher ol 
the Gospel, that Paul accounted himself pure from 
the blood of men, because he had not concealed 
from them any part of God's truth. He knew not 
that policy by which some pulpits have been disgra- 
ced, of deferring the declaration of the whole truth to 
a more convenient season. As if the native enmity of 
the heart were to be softened by delay — as if it could 
be reduced by any thing but by the truth itself — as 
if men ever found their audiences more tractable by 
this kind of forbearance ; or were themselves more 
instrumental in bringing sinners to God; or had the 
answer of a good conscience more complete in their 
own bosoms. God, my friends, knows infinitely bet- 
ter than we, what truths are suited to our circum- 
stances, and has revealed them in his book ; and ac- 
cursed be that prudence which suggests the propriety 
of suppressing any one of them. If there is one trait 
of a faithful minister more obvious than another, it is 
this, that he is not afraid nor ashamed to say what 
God has said before him in his word. 

Here, my beloved friends, is a breathing place for 
every honest messenger of God's truth : may I be per- 
mitted to say, that I feel it to be so to myself? When 
the ministry of Paul is the subject, blushes and tears 
become the sense which I cannot but perceive of the 
immense disparity. But in this particular, 1 can stand 
even in the presence of God, and can say, that in so 
far as he has been pleased to enlighten me, I have 
never shunned to declare his whole counsel. You 



19 



know that, in this matter, I have not " sought glory 
of men" — have not made their applause, not even 
your applause, how respectable soever, my object- 
have never baulked a truth, however unpopular ; nor 
ever asked if it were acceptable or not. It has al- 
ways been enough for me to have the word of God on 
my side. And when that has been clear, you cannot 
forget how frequently, nay, how habitually, you have 
been turned over to his tribunal. On this ground do 
1 stand in this awful day of my life. Bear witness 
against me, if I have not told you the truth. Very 
feebly, I own ; very imperfectly, I do Confess ; but 
corruptly never. And, O my friends, remember that 
you have a heavy account to render, an account for 
blood, for your own blood. I call heaven and earth, 
and your own consciences, to witness against you this 
day, that if you perish, " your blood will be upon 
your own heads, I am clean." With this cheering, 
but melancholy assurance, I close my ministry among 
you. Yet let me say, are there any of you, to whom 
that ministry has been sanctified ? Bless the Father 
of mercies ; and do not waste your anxieties upon 
the worthless instrument. " Look unto Jesus, the 
author and finisher of your faith, to complete in 
you all the good pleasure of his goodness," till he 
bring you to his kingdom, shouting " grace, grace !" 

Are there none here, and those whom we respect 
and love for their amiable and social qualities, yet 
who never knew what it is to love the Lord Jesus 
Christ? To whom his truth, proclaimed day after 



20 



day, has been like water poured into a sieve; ail 
" spilled on the ground, and not gathered up." Let 
me say to you, my friends, perhaps it is the last time, 
the day of your reckoning cometh ; and you will find 
that the things so lightly esteemed by you are not for- 
gotten by your God. Who of you would escape go- 
ing down to the pit ? Who would not ? Then hear, 
and hear it again, and hear it as for eternity — " There 
is forgiveness with God !" The doors of his mercy 
are not closed ! The very chief of sinners may yet 
find acceptance with him through his dear Son. 
" Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life 
freely ;" yes, freely ; with all the welcome of God's 
authority, and all the riches of God's bounty, freely, 
" so iniquity shall not be his ruin." 

It may be expected that on this occasion I should 
deliver my thoughts concerning the person who is to 
take my place, and concerning your own part in the 
selection. How unfit I am for the discharge of these 
duties, I abundantly feel ; and particularly how much 
easier it is to tell you what you should not do, than 
what you should. Yet, such as 1 have, give I unto 
you ; and in that name which you should never hear 
quoted with lightness or irreverence — the name of 
Jesus. 

I trust you will not choose a vain man, who occupies 
the pulpit more to display himself, than to profit you. 
Of all the melancholy things seen among men, this is 
perhaps the most melancholy; a poor sinful being 



21 



complimenting himself upon the discharge of his of- 
fice, while the ministering angels look upon him with 
a mixture of dislike, of shame, and of horrour : and 
while his Judge, before whom he is shortly to appear, 
regards him with a frown, of which the interpretation 
is, " ill done ! thou bad and faithless servant ; enter 
thou not into the joy of thy Lord !" 

2. Do not choose a showy man. Many of these 
men there are who have only outside. You will be as 
sick of him at last, as you were enamoured of him 
at first. You will speedily find that he cannot instruct 
nor edify you ; and will be heartily tired of seeing 
him show himself. 

3. Do not choose a man who always preaches upon 
insulated texts. I care not how powerful or eloquent 
he may be in handling them. The effect of his power 
and eloquence will be, to banish a taste for the word 
of God, and to substitute the preacher in its place. 
You have been accustomed to hear that word 
preached to you in its connexion. Never permit that 
practice to drop. Foreign churches call it lecturing ; 
and when done with discretion, I can assure you, 
that, while it is of all exercises the most difficult for 
the preacher, it is, in the same proportion, the most 
profitable for you. It has this peculiar advantage, 
that in going regularly through a book of Scripture, 
it spreads out before you all sorts of character, and 
all forms of opinion ; and gives the preacher an oppor- 
tunity of striking every kind of evil and of errour, 



22 

without subjecting him to the invidious suspicion of 
aiming his discourses at individuals. 

4. Do not choose a man of dubious principles. The 
truth of God was given to be proclaimed, not suppress- 
ed. It is a " city set on a hill" — a light which must 
shine, not be smothered under a bushel. When I 
hear of a man's preaching for years together in such 
a manner that his most attentive and intelligent hear- 
ers are unable to conjecture what his sentiments are 
upon the cardinal truths of revelation, I cannot avoid 
pronouncing him a traitor. His business is to preach 
Christ ; and not to treat the Gospel as if it were a 
bundle of mere negations : and see his hearers sink 
down, one after another, in death, uninstructed, un- 
warned, unprepared, through his negligence : and 
himself following them with all the " deep damnation' 7 
of their blood upon his soul ! Oh ! it is inconceiva- 
bly fearful ! 

5. Above all things it is devoutly to be hoped, that 
you will never invite to the " care of your souls," a 
man who cares nothing about them. I mean, more 
particularly, for I would not be misunderstood, a man 
who belongs to that rank of traitors who miscal them- 
selves "rational Christians." Against these men I 
have ever warned you, as the enemies of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and all that is valuable in his religion, 
and peculiar in his salvation. I know well that this 
congregation is considered by them as the very focus 
of what they term bigotry ; and I do rejoice that thus 



23 



far I and you have been counted worthy to suffer 
shame for his name. Long may it continue so ! Long 
may it be thought a hopeless case to attempt to bring 
you over to the fellowship of devils. Though I would 
not slander the devil : he promotes his work, as the 
destroyer, not by tempting men to his belief, but by 
persuading them to embrace what he does not be- 
lieve — what is too coarse and abominable for hell it- 
self; and what the philosophical Christians shall find 
to be so, when they get to their own place. The pre- 
tences of these men to kindness, and candour, and 
love, are all hollow. They mean to make proselytes 
of you, and two-fold more the children of hell than 
themselves. O keep at a distance from them ! Fur- 
thest from them, and their charity, is best. Come not 
near their ice, never to be melted but in that fire 
which shall not be quenched. This pulpit, this church, 
were destined to the glory of the Lord Jesus. Let 
them never be polluted by a foot, nor profaned by a 
tongue, which are not moved by his honour. 

1 cannot better describe the character of a profita- 
ble ministry than it is done to my hand in a work too 
little known, the Directory for Public Worship, under 
the head Of the Preaching of the Word. 

"Ordinarily, the subject of his sermon is to be 
some text of Scripture, holding forth some principle 
or head of religion, or suitable to some special occa- 
sion ; or he may go on in some chapter, psalm, or 
book of the Holy Scripture, as he shall see ^it 



24 



« Let the introduction to his text be brief and per- 
spicuous, drawn from the text itself, or context, or 
some parallel place, or general sentence of Scripture. 

" If the text be long (as in histories or parables it 
sometimes must be,) let him give a brief sum of it ; if 
short, a paraphrase thereof, if need be : in both, look- 
ing diligently to the scope of the text, and pointing at 
the chief heads and grounds of doctrine which he is 
to raise from it. 

" In analyzing and dividing his text, he is to regard 
more the order of matter than of words: and neither 
to burden the memory of the hearers in the beginning 
with too many members of division, nor to trouble 
their minds with obscure terms of art. 

" In raising doctrines from the text, his care ought 
to be, First, That the matter be the truth of God. Se- 
condly, That it be a truth contained in or grounded on 
that text, that the hearers may discern how God 
teacheth it from thence. Thirdly, That he chiefly 
insist upon those doctrines which are principally in- 
tended, and make most for the edification of the 
hearers. 

" The doctrine is to be expressed in plain terms ; 
or, if any thing in it need explication, it is to be open- 
ed, and the consequence also from the text cleared. 
The parallel places of Scripture confirming the doc- 
trine are rather to be plain and pertinent than many. 



25 



and (if need be) somewhat insisted upon, and applied 
to the purpose in hand. 

" The arguments or reasons are to be solid, and as 
much as may be, convincing. The illustrations, of 
what kind soever, ought to be full of light, and such 
as may convey the truth into the hearer's heart with 
spiritual delight. 

" If any doubt, obvious from Scripture, reason, or 
prejudice of the hearers, seem to arise, it is very re- 
quisite to remove it, by reconciling the seeming differ- 
ences, answering the reasons, and discovering and 
taking away the causes of prejudice and mistake. 
Otherwise it is not fit to detain the hearers with pro- 
pounding or answering vain or wicked cavils, which, 
as they are endless, so the propounding and answer- 
ing of them doth more hinder than promote edifica- 
tion. 

" He is not to rest in general doctrine, although 
ever so much cleared and confirmed, but to bring it 
home to special use, by application to his hearers : 
which, although it prove a work of great difficulty to 
himself, requiring much prudence, zeal, and medita- 
tion, and to the natural and corrupt man will be very 
unpleasant ; yet he is to endeavour to perform it in 
such a manner that his auditors may feel the word of 
God to be quick and powerful, and a discerner of the 
thoughts and intents of the heart; and that, if any 
unbeliever or ignorant person be present, he may have 

4 



26 

the secrets of his heart made manifest, and give glory 
to God. 

" In the use of instruction or information in the 
knowledge of some truth, which is a consequence 
from his doctrine, he may (when convenient) confirm 
it by a few firm arguments from the text in hand, and 
other places of Scripture, or from the nature of that 
common-place in divinity, whereof that truth is a 
branch. 

" In confutation of false doctrines, he is neither to 
raise an old heresy from the grave, nor to mention a 
blasphemous opinion unnecessarily : but, if the peo- 
ple be in danger of an error, he is to confute it sound- 
ly, and endeavour to satisfy their judgments and con- 
sciences against all objections. 

" In exhorting to duties, he is, as he seeth cause, to 
teach also the means that help to the performance of 
them. 

" In dehortation, reprehension, and public admoni- 
tion (which require special wisdom,) let him, as there 
shall be cause, not only discover the nature and great- 
ness of the sin, with the misery attending it, but also 
show the danger his hearers are in to be overtaken 
and surprised by it, together with the remedies and 
best way to avoid it. 

" In applying comfort, whether general against all 
temptations, or particular against some special trou- 



27 



bles or terrors, he is carefully to answer such objec- 
tions as a troubled heart and afflicted spirit may sug- 
gest to the contrary. 

" But the servant of Christ, whatever his method 
be, is to perform his whole ministry. 

" Painfully, not doing the work of the Lord negli- 
gently. 

" Plainly, that the weakest may understand ; de- 
livering the truth not in the enticing words of man's 
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of 
power, lest the cross of Christ should be made of 
none effect ; abstaining also from an unprofitable use 
of unknown tongues, strange phrases, and cadences 
of sounds and words ; sparingly citing sentences of 
ecclesiastical, or other human writers, ancient or mo- 
dern, be they ever so elegant. 

" Faithfully, looking at the honour of Christ, the 
conversion, edification, and salvation of the people, 
not at his own gain or glory ; keeping nothing back 
which may promote those holy ends ; giving to every 
one his own portion, and bearing indifferent respect 
unto all, without neglecting the meanest, or sparing 
the greatest, in their sins. 

" Wisely, framing all his doctrines, exhortations, 
and especially his reproofs, in such a manner as may 
be most likely to prevail; showing all due respect to 



28 



each man's person and place, and not mixing his own 
passion or bitterness. 

" Gravely, as becometh the word of God ; shun- 
ning all such gesture, voice, and expressions, as may 
occasion the corruptions of men to despise him and 
his ministry. 

" With loving affection, that the people may see all 
coming from his godly zeal, and hearty desire to do 
them good. And, 

" As taught of God, and persuaded in his own heart, 
that all that he teacheth is the truth of Christ ; and 
walking before his flock as an example to them in it ; 
earnestly, both in private and public, recommending 
his labours to the blessing of God, and watchfully 
looking to himself, and the flock whereof the Lord 
hath made him overseer: so shall the doctrine of 
truth be preserved uncorrupt, many souls be convert- 
ed and built up, and himself receive manifold com- 
forts of his labours even in this life, and afterward the 
crown of glory laid up for him in the world to come." 

After all, be it never forgotten, that it is the Lord 
Jesus himself who must send you a pastor after his 
own heart. The ministry of the word is his ascen- 
sion-gift ; and if there is one thing more than another 
for which he will be inquired of by his church, this 
is the important thing. Then look up to him for the 
Holy Spirit, as the " spirit of grace and of supplica- 



29 



tion." Pray for the effusion of his heavenly grace. 
Pray in secret, in private, and in public — in your clo- 
sets, in your families, in your social meetings, after 
such form as you may find most suitable to your cir- 
cumstances; be instant in your entreaties to the throne 
of grace, and give the Hearer of prayer no rest, till 
he hear you from his holy heaven, and grant you the 
hallowed desires of your hearts. 

And now, my dear friends, the moment of so much 
trembling anxiety, of which you and I have turned 
away from the sight — the moment of severance is 
come. Yet in the midst of those agitations which it 
excites, there are two considerations which comfort 
and sooth my spirit — 

1. I leave you in peace. 

During the whole course of my ministration among 
you, it is my happiness to be conscious that there has 
been no strife between us. Never has there been 
any misunderstanding between my people and my- 
self. Harmony unbroken has marked my intercourse 
with them all. Between officers, and private Chris- 
tians, and myself, not a shadow of collision has ever 
occurred. I part with you without one unkind feel- 
ing. Many infirmities have you borne with : and for 
the affectionate regards of so many years continuance, 
I return this day, all that is in my power, the thanks 
of a grateful heart, which assuredly do not proceed 
from feigned lips. Now, my beloved friends, for a 



;*o 



recompense of the same, go on cultivating the unity 
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Take care that 
the election of a new pastor do not become a source 
of contention and heart-burnings. " Pray for the peace 
of your Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love 
her. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity with- 
in thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' 
sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because 
of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy 
good. And may the God of peace, that brought again 
from the dead the Lord Jesus Christ, that great shep- 
herd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlast- 
ing covenant, make you perfect to do his will, stablish, 
strengthen, settle you." 

2. The second consolatory thought is, that the 
Lord Jesus is the living head, the centre of union, to 
all his people. 

Their souls are bound up with him in the same 
bundle of life. Nothing, my Christian friends, can 
ever part us from him. u What shall separate us from 
the love of Christ ? shall tribulation, or distress, or 
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or 
sword ? (As it is written, For thy sake we are killed 
all the day long ; we are accounted as sheep for the 
slaughter.) Nay, in all these things we are more than 
conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am per- 
suaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come ; nor height, nor depth, nor any other 



31 



creature, shall be able to separate us from the love 
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Well, then, though far asunder, we shall be still 
united: we remove not one hair's-breadth from the 
mercy-seat. There 1 shall meet you, and remember 
you. There do you also remember me. We may be 
abundantly happy in the light of his countenance. 
Ever bear in mind that the Disposer of our lot is the 
Saviour of our souls. 

A word to the young people of my charge shall 
finish my discourse. My dear young friends, you are 
the hope of the church ; " your fathers, where are 
they ? and the prophets, do they live for ever ?" Older 
Christians must be gathered to their rest, and you 
must occupy their places. That terrible deposit, 
the truth of God, must come into your hands. Ask 
your souls, how will you receive it ? The Lord Jesus 
has powerful claims on you. You were early dedi- 
cated to his name, and cast upon his provi- 
dence. This hand has poured out upon most of you 
the symbol of consecration to the fear, the love, and 
the service of God. The oath of his covenant is on 
your souls. Have your consciences felt the power of 
its obligation? My ministry, which for more than 
eleven years I have discharged among you, is at an 
end ; but not so the consequences. The good Lord 
knows with what fidelity and what success my labours 
have been attended. The hour is not far distant 
when I must deliver up my account, and you must de- 
liver up yours. O, to deliver them up with joy ! 



32 



Thou blessed and heavenly Judge, shall I stand before 
thy seat, charged with any of their blood ? Shall 
they stand before it charged with their own ? Shall 
all the offers of thy mercy, all the pathos of thy suf- 
ferings, all thine inimitable patience, and all thy 
marvellous love, have been preached to them in vain ? 
Shall there be any here who does not more certainly 
turn his back upon the closed doors of this house of 
prayer, than he does upon the last, lingering offer of 
thy salvation ? The thought is too overwhelming. 
Pardon me, my friends. — I can no more. 



APPENDIX 



The following documents are published at the request of the Session and Trus- 
tees of the Congregation. 



At a meeting of the male members of the third congregation of 
the Associate Reformed Church in the city of New-York, held 
at the church in Murray-street, on the 25th September, 1821, 
John Forsyth was chosen Chairman, and George Galla- 
gher, Clerk. The following communication zoas received from 
the Ren. Dr. Mason, which zoas read. 

"TO the members of the congregatoin of the 

THIRD ASSOCIATE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE CITY OF 
NEW YORK. 

"My Christian Friends, 

" My thoughts have been turned, for a considerable time past, 
with deep solicitude toward your situation. I see and feel that 
your interests are suffering, and suffering through myself. The 
cause, indeed, is in my infirmity, not in my fault. The holy 
hand of God has lain, and still lies upon me ; and, through me, 
upon you. His dispensations are wise, and just, and good ; nor 
is it for us to repine at them. But the use of proper means to 
mitigate or remove our afflictions, is not repining. So far as 
depends upon me, I cannot consent that your's should be any 
longer protracted. I know well your tolerance, your patience, 
your kindness. I have had many expressions of them all ; and 
latterly, your sympathizing endurance of my mutilated servi- 
ces on the Lord's day ; your willingness, and even eagerness, 

5 



34 



rather to shut up your sanctuary than run any hazard of op- 
pressing me, comes home to my heart with an appeal which is 
sensibly felt, and will, I hope, be long gratefully remembered. 
But, my dear friends, this very forbearance of yours, while it 
draws closer all the cords of affection, stimulates me to attempt 
your relief. The fact is evident — my feeble and imperfect 
ministrations cannot but tend to your detriment. Time enough 
has been spent upon an experiment, to render any further ex- 
pectations of benefit from its issue, either comfortable or rea- 
sonable. Under these circumstances, I think it my duty, in cor- 
respondence with the best medical opinion I have been able 
to consult, to retire from the pulpit. 

" In thus retiring, I must retire also from the city and from the 
sea-coast. The mixed atmosphere of our climate affects me 
unfavourably. You are all witnesses of the manner in which 
the easterly damps from the ocean control my utterance. A 
removal into the interior, I believe to be simply necessary to my 
future well-being. The calculation may be erroneous ; the hope 
founded upon it may be disappointed ; but still, it is the best 
calculation and hope which I am able to form, and must govern 
me accordingly. 

" Your goodness to me would lead you to anticipate merely 
the suspension of my labours among you, my pastoral relation 
continuing the same. Such, however, it is but candid to say, 
is not my intention. I cannot submit to be a heavy burden 
upon you, when I no longer render the services for which your 
support of me was stipulated. The anxieties of such a state 
would defeat the effect of my retreat : as it is essential that my 
mind should be free from those distressing cares which for the 
last twelve months have not ceased to prey upon me, and 
have materially retarded my recovery. Besides, I cannot dis- 
semble to myself, that I stand in the way of another, and, pro- 
bably, a less expensive settlement. 



35 



" My design, therefore, my dear friends, is to demit my charge 
into the hands of the Presbytery of New- York, at their meet- 
ing in the city of New- York, on Thursday the 25th day of Octo- 
ber next, with a request that my pastoral relation may cease, 
from and after the first of December next. The measure is, 
indeed, like tearing the flesh from my bones ; but it is all that 
is left 'for me to do. 

" I am fully sensible of the secular consequences which this 
step may draw after it. My private resources, whatever wealth 
the world, when drafts were to be made upon my purse, was 
pleased to give me credit for possessing, are very scanty, and 
have been, hitherto, expended in the service of the churches. 
Yet such as they are, they will, I hope, with frugal management, 
furnish me with food and raiment, and therewith I desire to be 
content. 

" The present notice of an application to the Presbytery for 
permission to demit my charge, was prepared in the end of 
June last, but was laid by for mature consideration, that it 
might not bear any marks of precipitancy. Since that time, viz. 
about the 13th of August, without my seeking or knowledge, I 
received an invitation from the Trustees of Dickenson College, 
at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, to take the superintendency of 
their institution, which they are about reviving. To this invi- 
tation I am favourably inclined. It will employ me usefully in 
work to which I feel myself adequate, but which will not op- 
press me. I have not committed myself on the question of ac- 
ceptance, which various contingencies may prevent. And it is 
very possible, should 1 even make the experiment, I may he 
obliged, by the state of my health, to abandon it. The propo- 
sition was not, however, as you will perceive by the dates, an 
original reason of my demission ; nor would it have been suffi- 
cient to draw me from the bosom of a people whom I tenderly 
love. I should not have mentioned the circumstance at all, 



36 



had it not been pretty generally known, and the suppression of 
it might have led to a suspicion that I have not acted fairly and 
frankly toward you. 

" Indulge me in asking one favour ; which is, that if you shall 
consent to my demission, you will be so good as to direct an of- 
ficial acknowledgment thereof to be given to me, for the satis- 
faction of the Presbytery : if otherwise, that you would be 
pleased officially to acknowledge the receipt of my reasons, a 
copy of which shall be laid before the Presbytery, and, also 
would appoint commissioners to express your sense to that judi- 
catory, at their next meeting, so as to save them the time, trou- 
ble, and expense, of an extra-meeting. 

" With great respect and affection, I am, dear friends, your 
obliged friend and pastor, 

"J. M. MASON." 
" Love-Lane, 22d Sept. 1821." 

On motion of S. Boyd, Esq. the above communication was 
referred to a committee of nine, to take the same into conside- 
ration, and report thereon, at a future meeting of the congre- 
gation. 

The chairman named Messrs. Boyd, Wilson, RadclhT, East- 
burn, Cahoone, Johnston, and Barrow. On motion, the chair- 
man and Mr. Nevins were added, to compose the committee. 

The meeting then adjourned, to meet on Tuesday evening, 
the 2d October, 1821, at 7 o'clock. 

(Signed) JOHN FORSYTH, Chairman. 

(Attest) GEORGE GALLAGHER, Clerk. 



37 



At a meeting of the male members of the third congregation of the 
Associate Reformed Church in the city of New-York, held at the 
church in Murray -street, on the 2d October, 1821, John For- 
syth was appointed Chairman of the meeting, and George Gal- 
lagher, Clerk. 

The committee, appointed for that purpose, made the follow- 
ing report, which was adopted. 

The committee, to whom was referred the communication of 
the Rev. Dr. Mason, addressed to the congregation of the third 
Associate Reformed Church in the city of New- York, under 
date of the 22d of September last, and laid before them at 
their meeting, on the 25th of that month, 

Respectfully Report: 

That they have given to that communication all the consi- 
deration which its importance demands, and which the interests 
involved in the measure it proposes, would necessarily induce. 

The separation of a pastor from the people of his charge, 
must, at all times, where there is mutual love and confidence, 
be attended with painful feelings ; and it is, not unfrequently, 
productive of consequences which deeply affect the interests and 
comfort of both. In contemplating the separation of this con- 
gregation and their pastor, there are considerations peculiarly 
tender, interesting, and important ; which it is not necessary 
here to enumerate, but which will be recollected and felt by 
all interested, and which must render the separation propor- 
tionably afflicting. These considerations have added much to 
the difficulty your committee have experienced, and to the 
sacrifice of feeling they have been compelled to make, in recom- 
mending to the congregation an acquiescence in the measure pro- 
posed by their pastor. To withhold their consent to a separa- 



38 



lion, contrary to his wish, so deliberately and decidedly expres- 
sed, and when that wish is founded upon the reasons contained 
in his communication, might well be considered as rather the 
result of the feelings of affection, than the deliberate act of the 
judgment, and a due regard to the respect which they bear 
him. 

Your committee, therefore, recommend the adoption of the 
following resolutions, viz. 

" A communication, addressed to the members of this congre- 
gation, by the Rev. Doctor John M. Mason, their pastor, under 
date of the 22d day of September, 1 821 , requesting, for the rea- 
sons therein stated, the consent of the congregation to the de- 
mission of his charge, having been laid before them, at a regular 
meeting duly notified and convened, and the same having been 
maturely and fully considered : 

u Resolved, That while this congregation desire to be deeply 
humbled, under the afflictive dispensation of Divine Provi- 
dence, by which the health of their much loved and highly 
respected pastor has been so far impaired as to render it neces- 
sary, in his judgment, that he should retire from the pulpit, and 
remove into the interior of the country ; they consider it their 
duty, painful as it is to their feelings, to acquiesce in his request ; 
and they do accordingly, in pursuance of such request, hereby 
consent and agree, that he resign his charge into the hands of the 
Presbytery of New- York, at their next meeting ; and that he 
be released from his pastoral relations to this congregation, from 
and after the first day of December next. 

" Resolved, That the chairman of this meeting be requested 
to furnish Doctor Mason with a copy, duly authenticated, of 
the preceding resolution ; and, at the same time, tender him 
the warmest thanks of the congregation for his long-continued. 



39 



able, and faithful ministrations among them ; with the assurance, 
that so long as he shall live, and wheresoever the good provi- 
dence of God may see fit to place him, their best sympathies 
and affections shall always accompany him, and their ardent 
prayers be offered, for his present and future happiness." 

Your committee cannot close their report, without adverting 
to a circumstance which is noticed in the communication refer- 
red to them, although they do not feel themselves authorized to 
submit any distinct proposition to the congregation, in relation 
to it. It is the fact, that the relinquishment of the charge of 
this congregation, by our beloved pastor, may draw after it con- 
sequences which will materially abridge his temporal comfort. 
Consequences, which, your committee are persuaded, the con- 
gregation would deplore ; and, so far as Providence shall ena- 
ble them, they will avert. 

All which is respectfully submitted, 

For and on behalf of the committee, 

SAMUEL BOYD, Chairman. 
New-York, 1st October, 1821. 

(Signed) JOHN FORSYTH, Chairman. 
(Attest) GEORGE GALLAGHER, Clerk. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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